- Premier Mark McGowan to undertake his first official visit to China in four years
- Historic five-day mission to reconnect Western Australia with its largest trading partner and strengthen partnerships with key government and industry leaders
- Western Australia accounted for 53 per cent of Australia’s total trade in goods with China in 2021-22, worth $143.6 billion
Premier Mark McGowan will lead an historic trade mission to China, ramping up Western Australia’s efforts to reconnect with key trading partners and keep WA’s economy strong.
The WA mission will be the first to visit China in four years – the first since the start of the pandemic – and will include engagements in Beijing to further strengthen investment and trade relations between Western Australia and China.
Beginning on April 17, the visit will support mutually beneficial exchanges in trade and investment across energy, resources, science and innovation, international education and aviation. This will include high-level meetings with key central government and industry leaders.
A key feature of the mission will be the Premier’s 5th Annual WA-China Strategic Dialogue on 19 April which will see up to 30 key business leaders from across Australia and China gather in Beijing to discuss investment and trade opportunities.
Industries represented at the dialogue will include mining and resources, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, financial services and banking as well as primary industries.
The Premier’s most recent visit to China was in April 2019 to attend the LNG2019 Conference in Shanghai. He last visited Beijing in 2018.
China is Western Australia’s largest trading partner, with $143.6 billion of goods traded in 2021‑22.
Western Australia accounted for 53 per cent of Australia’s total trade in goods with China in 2021‑22.
China is Western Australia’s second largest market for international students, accounting for 11 per cent of the State’s total international student enrolments in 2022.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, China was Western Australia’s fifth largest market for international visits, with 66,720 visits in 2018-19.
Visit Invest and Trade WA’s China Market Outlook 2022-23 for more information on trade and investment opportunities:
As stated by Premier Mark McGowan:
“The fact this will be my first trade mission to China since the pandemic speaks to the importance of our mutually beneficial relationship.
“WA’s economic relationship with China is crucial to the strength of our local economy, supporting thousands and thousands of local WA jobs.
“My first official overseas mission after taking office in 2017 was to China, and I am looking forward to returning again this month, to highlight our strong trade relationship.
“Developed over several decades, our economic relationship with China is a mutually fruitful one.
“It is a relationship that continues to grow. In 2021-22, Western Australia exported $135.6 billion of goods to China, which was significantly above the annual average of $77.9 billion over the past 10 years.
“This mission is a great opportunity to reconnect with Chinese leaders – from government to industry – and progress new trade and investment opportunities in a range of sectors.”
